Devilish Games
by Kelsi Lynne
Summary: Slight chain story between Marisa Lee and myself. Blossom and Brick take care of a flour baby, but it coincidence that they're forced together, or is someone plotting something...? Rating: T for language and whatnot. Mainly reds, but all pairings included. Read, review, favorite and follow, lovelies! c: Chapter 6 up!
1. Chapter 1

*****Hello my lovely followers, and hopefully future followers as well. This is a story written by yours truly and Marisa Lee (who has been helping me along the way and even adding a few paragraphs/ideas of her own). I'm hoping the amazingness that this story can become will make up for my discontinuation of Distortion. I hope you enjoy, please R&R*****

"Wait, what project?!" Buttercup exclaimed. She looked around the room anxiously, as if guilty about something.

"Calm down, Buttercup, it's not a project that has happened already." Buttercup sighed in relief at Robin's reassurance.

"Thank god, I was about to feel really bad for my partner."

Bubbles looked up from her _Teen Vogue_ magazine. "Did Ms. Elam tell us what the project is yet?"

Blossom shook her head and pushed a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "Not yet," she said. "But from what I hear it's a pretty huge thing."

Buttercup groaned. "I swear, school will be the death of me."

Bubbles giggled. "I dunno, it could be fun!"

Buttercup scoffed and crossed her legs into a butterfly position. "Yeah right, since when are school projects ever _fun_?" she asked in disgust.

Robin shrugged. "That tie-dye thing we did in chem was kind of fun."

"Yes, I loved that one!" Bubbles piped.

"Maybe it's a potato battery," Blossom suggested. "That'd be fun."

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, sounds like a total walk in the park." she thought for a moment while Blossom stuck out her bottom lip. "Oh! Maybe we're dissecting something! Like a cat!"

Bubbles and Blossom made sick faces. "No! Poor kitty!" Bubbles whined.

Buttercup laughed at her sister's discomfort and Robin put an arm around Bubbles' shoulders.

"I don't think it'll be any dissecting," Robin reassured the blonde girl. "Ms. Elam's too ethical for that."

"That woman wouldn't hurt a fly," Blossom agreed.

Buttercup yawned. She reached across Robin's lap to grab her bowl of chips and said, "Which is _exactly_ why I don't like her."

"Well, that's no reason to hate a teacher," Bubbles sighed, stealing a chip from Buttercup. Buttercup glared at the blue-eyed chip thief. Bubbles stuck her tongue out before shoving the chip in her mouth and laughing around it.

"Whatever the project is," Robin piped up, "I _really_ hope I'm not paired with Chad. You know, he's still obsessed with me? One kiss and he wants to _marry_ me. He's off his rocker."

Bubbles made an odd sort of noise as she tried to finish her chip quickly. When she finally swallowed it down, she look at Robin, wide-eyed, and said, "Really?" in a sort of exasperated tone.

"Yes, _really_. He stalked my Facebook, and got my number from Patty! He doesn't even talk to her, and I'm seriously _so_ mad that Patty would just give out my number like that," Robin squealed.

"But...But...He's too cute to be a creep!" Bubbles whined.

Blossom groaned, pressing her nose closer to her Chemistry book. If she didn't study for this test, she was bound to get a _ninety_ and if she got less than a ninety-nine, she would personally rip off those gossiping, teenaged—

"Blossom!" Bubbles suddenly screeched, causing Blossom to jump and knock her head on Robin's trinket shelf, and knock down one of her snowglobes. Buttercup's hand shot out and caught it with great accuracy and hand-eye coordination.

"Thank goodness you're so athletic, because if that would have broken," Robin began to threaten.

"Yes, Bubbles?" sighed Blossom. She wore an expression of pure annoyance. Bubbles was bouncing and flailing her arms like a madwoman, and gasping as if she was trying to word something correctly.

"Okay, so I was talking to Derrick, and he _totally _hinted he wants to ask you to the homecoming dance!" Bubbles was simply bursting with joy at her sister's expense, and Blossom sighed again.

"Bubbles, you _know_ I don't want to go to Homecoming. Besides...Derrick isn't even that cute." Blossom was trying to hide her blush. Derrick...? She smiled a little and went back to her studying.

"Ha, Blossom and Derrick? That would sure be a dream couple," Buttercup said sarcastically. "The smartest girl in school with the dumbest boy in the history of forever."

"Derrick is _not_ dumb!" exclaimed Bubbles. Buttercup just rolled her eyes and shoved a handful of chips in her mouth, then turned to Robin.

"Sow aww yuh dwivin mer toh pwactishe?" she asked, but since her mouth was full, it came out as a garbled mess.

"Yes, I will drive you to practice, Buttercup," Robin assured. "What time?"

"Weh." Buttercup swallowed then coughed. "It starts at five, but Zach always shows up early to set up, and sometimes he asks me to help him put on his shoulder pads if I'm early enough...and well..._that body._"

"Okay, so we're leaving...?" Robin pressed.

"Now, please." Buttercup jumped up from Robin's recliner and grabbed Robin's hand to help her up from the bed.

"Are you guys staying here? I'll only be a couple minutes," Robin asked as she grabbed her keys from the bedside table.

"Only if you get me a slushie," Bubbles demanded, handing Robin two dollars.

"Alright, I'll be back!"

Blossom turned the page in her book. She smiled as she read the chapter title. _Chapter Nine: Environmental Geobiochemistry and You! _"I _love_ Geobiochem!"

"Uh...yeah whatever." Bubbles waved off Blossom's outburst and pulled out Robin's laptop. She logged into her Facebook and squealed loudly.

"Oh...my..._goodness_! Guess who just messaged me!"

Blossom decided to humor her sister. "Who?" she asked, trying to sound interested in whatever form of gossip Bubbles decided to conjure up this time.

"You know that _adorable_ exchange student from Germany?" she asked.

"Yeah, you mean Kirk Fredrick?"

"Yeah, names don't matter. Anyway, he messaged me asking me if I wanted to 'hook up' later! Do you think he likes me?"

"Uh, Bubbles...I think that would imply he likes _parts_ of you." Blossom said slowly.

"No, no! He's German, so in his language, that means something romantic like 'Hello gorgeous, I want to take you out on a candlelit dinner under the stars while we whisper sweet nothings to each other' or something like that." Bubbles sighed dreamily and hugged the computer as if it were a stuffed animal.

Blossom rolled her eyes. Her sister could be _so _naïve sometimes. She flipped a page in her chemistry book with a sigh. She absentmindedly thought back to the project Ms. Elam was supposed to be assigning in the next few days. She found herself wondering about it aloud.

"Do you remember if Ms. Elam said that project was mandatorily partner work?" she asked Bubbles. She fiddled with the corner of the page in her chemistry book and looked at her sister expectantly.

Bubbles just shrugged and continued to type back to her 'foreign exchange student'. "Uh, I think she said something about it has to be partners."

Blossom rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and turned her head towards her sister with great emphasis. "That's what I just _asked _you."

Bubbles pretended not to hear her and smiled to herself as she replied to Kirk again.

Blossom sighed for what felt like the tenth time and slammed her chemistry book shut. She wasn't getting anywhere with her studying while the mystery project was on her mind.

"I hate partner work," she moaned half to herself, because she knew Bubbles wasn't really listening. "They always pair me with someone who makes me do all the work. Not that I mind doing the work, but they don't put any effort into it, and end up getting all the credit. It's just—"

"I hope I get paired with Kirk," Bubbles interrupted with that same dreamy look in her eyes.

Just then, Robin's fifteen-year-old brother, Gavin, burst through the door. He was wearing nothing but a towel, and his hair was sopping wet and lathered with shampoo.

"Robin, why is the hot water turned off!" He was shouting as he entered. When he noticed that Bubbles and Blossom were the ones occupying his sister's bedroom rather than Robin, he backed out slowly, his face reddening.

"S-sorry...I di-didn't know Robin..." He slammed the door shut, and the two heroines heard him run down the hall and slam what was undoubtedly the bathroom door.

Blossom, who hadn't shown many signs of happiness the entire time they had spent at Robin's house, began to laugh uncontrollably. Her face was red, and she was doubled over with her hysterics. Bubbles joined in the crack-up fest, and it continued until Robin came back into her room. She shot the two sisters a questioning, but Blossom waved her off.

Robin shrugged, deciding not to press the subject. She handed Bubbles her slushie. "So, I feel bad for making you guys wait here, but my mom said we're going out to dinner and she wants you out of the house."

Blossom began gathering her things and Bubbles logged off of her Facebook. "It's alright, we were gonna have to leave soon anyway," said Bubbles. The sisters headed out the door, calling their goodbyes as they went.

The Utonium household wasn't very far from Robin's house, so they began their five-minute walk with no complaints. Neither spoke much, making small comments here and there, but ultimately keeping a quiet, peaceful mood.

When they arrived home, Blossom made her way straight to her en suite, suddenly feeling a major need to take a shower. Although it seemed out of character for a 'smart girl' to care about looks, Blossom absolutely _loved_ her hair, and she went out of her way to make sure it was well kempt. So, when Blossom realized it had been nearly twenty-four hours since her last shower, she simply could not ignore the impulse to lather, rinse and repeat.

Bubbles, on the other hand, decided to touch up her nails, which were close to chipping. She went over her baby-blue nails with another coat of the same shade, then a clear polish to help keep it from becoming damaged. When that was done, she simply rinsed out her hair and braided it back, hoping for waves, which would go perfect with her blue sun-dress outfit she planned on wearing the next day.

When Buttercup arrived home from her football practice, she was too exhausted to do anything close to taking care of her personal hygiene. So, she tossed her equipment in the front closet and dragged herself up the stairs, changing into pajamas and falling on her bed, passing out almost instantly.

Buttercup and Bubbles slept soundly that night, Buttercup dreaming of Zack and football, Bubbles dreaming of Kirk and Germany. Blossom, on the other hand, found sleep to be a distant idea. For some reason unfathomable to her, she couldn't stop thinking about the mystery project.

Constant questions swm through her mind as she tried to fall asleep. _What will the project be about?_ she wondered. She was hoping for something scientific, but with a Life-Health class, the only scientific stuff would be the simple things like hormones and 'teenaged urges'. It was also bothering Blossom that there were going to be partners. Ms. Elam _always_ chose at random, and the pairs were _always_ boy-girl. Although it hadn't happened yet, Blossom still dreaded partner work for the fact that Brick Jojo was also in the class. It was one thing to be paired with a moron, but being paired with a Ruff? That was simply unbearable.

Blossom groaned and turned to her side. She had too many thoughts swimming through her mind to sleep, and it was beginning to drive her insane. So, instead, she turned on her desk lamp and studied for her chem test again. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

First hour. Blossom had Ms. Elam's class first hour. That meant she would find out what the project was before anybody else did. All of her friends were begging her to tell them the second she got out of class. She assured them, don't worry, she will. She found herself excited to know what the project was.

She took her usual seat in the Life-Heath classroom, front and center, at least five minutes before everyone else came in. When at last her classmates began to trickle into the classroom one-by-one, she couldn't help but scowl when none other than Brick Jojo entered, that signature smirk spread across his face. He was followed by his usual fan club of two girls who would basically take a bullet for him. All they ever did was swoon over his 'attractiveness' and other stupid things Blossom didn't care to discuss. He swaggered into the classroom like he owned the place and as he passed Blossom's desk, he reached out and _purposely_ knocked her books to the floor.

His two followers snickered as he continued to his seat, pretending not to notice.

"Excuse me," Blossom said forwardly, turning to face him down a few rows from her in the very back.

He looked up. "Me?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, _you_," she snapped. "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"For what? Being so good-looking?" he smirked and the two girls chortled evilly. Blossom scoffed, standing up to retrieve her books from the floor just as the bell rang in her ears.

"Miss Utonium, please get off the floor so I can begin class," Ms. Elam said sharply, startling Blossom and causing her to fall flat on her bottom. The class erupted into laughter and Blossom's cheeks flushed bright pink. She picked up the last of her books and raised herself back into her seat, wanting nothing more than to just blend in with the chair and become invisible forever.

Blossom stole another glance at Brick and gave him a look of disgust, which he graciously returned with a sneer followed by his smirk. She turned back around, sat up straight, and pretended the rest of the class didn't exist. Instead, she focused her attention on Ms. Elam, who was writing the word 'parenthood' on the board with chalk. She underlined the word three times before turning to address the class.

"Today is the day I reveal my surprise project!" She said excitedly. She looked around the class, obviously expecting a more joyous reaction to her news, but only receiving a roomful of sleepy teenagers staring back at her. She frowned slightly then went on. "All of you are going to be assigned a partner of the opposite sex that will serve as your spouse for two weeks, and together, the pair will take care of—" she reached under her desk—,"a flour baby!" She held up a sack of flour with a face taped on to it.

"Wait, so all my life I've been told not to become a dad until I'm an adult, and now I'm getting one forced on me?" Brick exclaimed from his seat, causing a couple giggles throughout the class. "This isn't fair! I even use condoms!"

"That's quite enough _Mr._ Jojo," Ms. Elam silenced Brick. She shook off his comments and turned back to the rest of the class. For the majority of the class, you will be flipping a coin to decide the basic features of your baby, which you will draw on the sack of flour, but _first_," she said as she reached under her desk again. She pulled out a top hat and said, "Gentlemen, please form a line in front of my desk, and pick a name out of the hat!"

All of the boys began to shuffle over to Ms. Elam's desk, forming a jumbled version of a line and drawing their partners. When Brick passed Blossom's desk, he made a point to shove against her. He turned and winked maniacally, earning a scoff from Blossom, which only fueled him more. He _loved_ making Blossom upset. It was one of his favorite hobbies.

The line moved slowly, and Blossom began to grow nervous when no one drew her name. She figured she must have been left out of the hat, just like with their last project where they had to research sexually transmitted diseases, so rather than letting herself panic, she focused on the sketch of a bookcase she was making. She had engrossed herself in her drawing, so when her name was called the first time, she didn't hear.

"Blossom Utonium," she finally heard someone say after three times. She glanced up and saw Brick standing in front of her desk. "Looks like I'm your baby daddy now." He winked at her and sat himself in a chair next to her desk.

"This...this has to be a mistake! Ms. Elam!" Blossom shouted as the news became clear to her. How could Blossom handle spending _more_ time with Brick than an hour for one class a day, if that single hour always drove her mad? There had to be a solution to this madness.

"Blossom, I already know, and no, you may not change your partner. Now work on the rest of the assignment." Blossom slowly turned to look into Brick's amused, piercing red eyes.

"What, don't you want to spend some quality time with me? I mean, I _am_ your favorite counterpart, right?" He winked and she scowled.

Blossom made a sort of huffing noise and spoke in a professional sort of voice. "I am going through with this project in the name of education and that's it," she assured him.

"You're such a buzz-kill," Brick murmured. He handed Blossom the paper Ms. Elam gave the boys when they drew their partners, and Blossom began working immediately, flipping coins and writing down the choices it made.

When she was done, their baby was a girl with brown eyes, red hair, small ears, a _lot_ of hair, and a tiny mouth. Blossom drew what the paper depicted and the finished product was actually somewhat adorable. She was having so much fun with the project that she had almost forgotten about her cruel fate, but, of course, Brick wouldn't let her forget.

"Hey, Momma, gonna let me take care of our daughter too, or are you doing everything for yourself?" He was leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head and a smile playing around his lips.

Blossom opened her mouth to answer, but as she inhaled the bell rang. "I'm taking care of her during classes." Blossom left with the sack of flour before he could protest, and she was in the worst of moods.

"Blossom!" Bubbles called as Blossom was putting her Life-Health book in her locker. "No _way_!" Bubbles' eyes went wide when she saw Blossom's 'baby'. "We're taking care of flour babies?" she exclaimed. Bubbles was jumping with joy, and she told Buttercup and Robin the news when they showed up.

"Really?" Robin said happily, joining Bubbles in her celebration.

Buttercup shrugged, indifferent and bored. "I told you the project would be lame."

"You'll never guess who her partner is." Blossom tensed as Brick approached, wearing his usual smirk.

"Oh..." said Bubbles, suddenly looking at Blossom with apologies in her eyes. Buttercup and Robin's expressions mirrored Bubbles' , and they all departed with 'I don't wanna be late'-s and 'catch ya later'-s.

Blossom rolled her eyes at Brick, and he laughed. "Come on, it's not _that_ bad." He was actually slightly upset with her reaction. Most girls would _love_ to spend two weeks with him, but not Blossom. She wanted nothing to do with him, and it confused him to no end.

"Oh, please. Two weeks with you? I doubt I'll stay sane the first two _hours_." She slammed her locker and turned to leave. Brick caught her arm and forced her around.

"Do _not_ grab me like that," she demanded.

"You better get that pole out of your ass, or these two weeks will be hell," Brick threatened.

Rather than responding, Blossom turned to leave, hoping with all of her heart that her chemistry test would lighten her mood, if only just a little.

*****Okay, there you have it, chapter one of 'Devilish Games'. We (Marisa and myself) hope you enjoyed this, and we also plan on updating as soon as possible. It helps if we have positive feedback and support, so review and follow please. xoxo*****


	2. Chapter 2

*****_Ahem, drum roll please! _****H****ere it is! Chapter two of Devilish Games! I have to give a lot of credit to Marisa Lee for this chapter, considering she wrote a great majority of it. So, thanks Marisa!  
Disclaimer: NOT MIXED PARINGS (it's just their partners c:)** *******

* * *

Buttercup's groan of disgust could probably be heard halfway across Townsville as she was let out of her Life-Health class at the end of the day. It was her very last class, so as soon as it was over, all of the students bolted out the school doors and cleared the area like their pants were on fire. Well, almost all of them.

Buttercup scowled as deep as possible and kicked her locker when it didn't open. She couldn't have been paired with a worse partner. Anyone in the whole class would've been significantly better, even _Elmer S'glue_ for all the cares she gave, but _Boomer Jojo_? The stupidest of all the RowdyRuff Boys? This meant she would actually have to _do_ some of the work, because Boomer wasn't intelligent enough to spell his own name.

Good thing he was such a sissy. As soon as Ms. Elam had assigned Buttercup as his 'spouse', he immediately claimed their sack of flour and began treating it like an actual human child. When Buttercup accidentally dropped the flour sack on the floor during their lottery coin flips for its features, he shot her the dirtiest look he could muster and scooped the sack up with such tenderness and care, Buttercup almost laughed out loud.

What an idiot. This was going to be the stupidest assignment in the history of school.

Finally, Buttercup was able to wrench her locker open. A few loose papers fluttered to the floor, and she ignored them. Bubbles nearly scared the living daylights out of her when she snuck up behind her and began talking excitedly.

"So?" she squealed, "Who'd you get paired up with for Ms. Elam's project?"

Once she got over the initial shock, Buttercup scowled deeply and threw a book into her backpack. "Boomer Jojo," she said through gritted teeth.

Bubbles made a noise that was somewhere between a squeal and a gasp. "_Really_?" she said disbelievingly, clutching the strap of her bag tighter against her shoulder. "That is _so_ weird!"

"Weird? More like fucking stupid."

Bubbles shook her head. "No, I mean, weird like, all three of us got paired with the boys."

Buttercup, in the process of slinging her backpack on her shoulder; stopped mid-swing, the bag falling heavily to her side. "What?"

"Mhm," Bubbles nodded again. "I got Butch. Go figure."

Buttercup's face wrinkled and she snorted. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "I swear Ms. Elam planned that! Ugh, that bitch!"

"Chill out, Buttercup," Bubbles hushed her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You never know, this could be fun!"

Buttercup's only response was a scowl as she scooped her backpack up from the floor and started walking towards the exit. Bubbles would think shoveling manure at a garbage dump was fun.

"Oh, get over it, drama queen," Bubbles giggled, trailing behind her sister. "Boomer's nice! I think you'll get along!"

Buttercup stopped in her tracks and shot Bubbles an awed look. "Are you insane?" she scoffed. "He's a RowdyRuff Boy. They're all fucking crazy."

Bubbles frowned as the girls continued to walk. "I don't know, I mean, Butch has matured a lot from when we were kids. He only made like three sex jokes the whole time, and I didn't even have to stop him from drawing a penis on the paper..." Buttercup stared at her disbelievingly and she backtracked. "Okay, maybe he did _once_..."

Buttercup's point proven, she smirked at her sister's expense and took to the sky before Bubbles could say anything else. She left the blonde girl confused and a bit hurt as she flew home alone.

* * *

Blossom arrived home long before her sisters, so she was even more enraged when she had come to find none other than the Rowdyruff boys waiting for her. Boomer and Butch were wrestling on the lawn, destroying her garden in the process, and Brick was watching them with a smirk.

"If you idiots don't stop that and replant my flowers, so help me I'll-" Blossom began to threaten.

"Blossom, you really shouldn't show such anger in front of the baby!" Scolded Brick with a sly look in his eyes.

Blossom sneered towards Brick, and made her way past him into the house. She set down her bag and carried the sack of flour into the livingroom. The boys followed, uninvited and rudely, into the Utonium household. Brick was directly behind Blossom.

"C'mon babe, when can I hold the baby?"

"Has hell frozen over yet?" Blossom retorted, sitting on the couch and cradling the baby. Brick sat next to her, satisfied with the look of discomfort it seemed to have brought to Blossom.

"I dunno, but I do know that Shaquanda wants her daddy," Brick demanded, holding his hands out. Blossom was taken aback, and she held the sack of flour closer to herself.

"Excuse me? You named her _Shaquanda_?" Blossom asked incredulously, appalled at the idea of her baby having such a name.

"Well, don't you think it gives her character?"

"No I do not, and her name is Megan!" demanded Blossom.

"Megan?" Brick scoffed. "Please, anyone would fuck with a Megan, but _no one_ fucks with Lahtoya"

"Well, I happen to think _Ashley_ is a sophisticated name, and it would suit her well." Blossom nodded to herself.

"Yeah, well our baby is badass like her old man, so the only obvious name to fit her profile would have to be Shaniqua-Lawfonduh," Brick concluded with his signature smirk thrown in Blossom's direction.

"Hey," Boomer chimed in. "How about something cute like Ally...or Rose!" Butch punched Boomer in the face and looked at Brick.

"I kinda liked Shaquanda. It's tough!" Butch approved.

Just before any verbal argument broke loose, Buttercup and Bubbles came inside. Buttercup's eyes widened at her company, then she stalked upstairs, muttering something like "stupid ruff, such a baby." She slammed her door loudly.

Bubbles, on the other hand, greeted everyone. "Hey Bloss!" she called. "Hi Brick, Butch," she offered with warmth. She noted Boomer, still on the ground and rubbing his cheek from Butch's punch.

"Aww, Boomer are you okay?" she asked with a worried look in her eyes. Boomer looked up at her and a blush spread across his face as he nodded to the pretty blonde heroine.

Butch rolled his eyes at the exchange. "Shouldn't you be asking about our child?" he asked with a sarcastic hint in his tone.

Boomer quickly stood up and shot Bubbles a horrified look. "You left your baby alone with Butch?"

Bubbles shrugged. "Sure, he seemed to know what he was doing..." she turned to meet Butch's guilty expression. "You _did_ take care of him, didn't you Butch?"

Butch shifted his gaze from Boomer to Bubbles. "Uh. Yeah." he scratched the back of his neck. "He's um. Napping. At home."

Bubbles' eyes went wide. "You left him home alone?!"

Her screech echoed throughout the house and Blossom, Boomer and Brick covered their ears. Butch was caught off guard and winced.

"Bubbles, chill out," Butch tried to reassure her. "It's just a sack of flour."

Obviously that wasn't the right response. Bubbles' face was growing red and the steam was practically visible coming out of her ears.

"Just a sack of flour?" she repeated angrily. "Just a sack of _flour_?!"

"Here we go," Blossom muttered under her breath, pretending to cover her baby's 'ears' as Bubbles began another one of her famous rants.

"I cannot believe you just said that, Butch Jojo!" she screamed. "That _sack of flour _is our child and you will go get him _right now_ before something awful happens to him, do you hear me?!"

Before Bubbles even had the chance to finish her yelling, Butch gulped and in a flash of emerald, he was out the door to retrieve their child.

Boomer watched Bubbles with a frightened expression on his face. He wasn't sure if he wanted to comfort her or run away. But he didn't have time to do either, because Bubbles whirled around to the bottom of the stairs in a flash of blue and called up to her sister,

"Buttercup! Come down here!"

A muffled response from Buttercup, and Bubbles rolled her eyes. "_Now_ please!"

A few seconds later, footsteps were heard on the landing, and in the blink of an eye, Buttercup had flown past both her sister and Boomer and was in the kitchen, looking for something to eat.

For the duration of Bubbles' panic attack, Blossom and Brick were still quarreling back and forth about the baby's name. At this point, Blossom was taking a liking to 'Sarah', whereas Brick was leaning towards 'Tangilique'.

"Her name is Shianne, and that's final." Blossom was beginning to get a migraine from Brick's idiocy.

Brick considered this, and to Blossom's surprise, nodded in approval. "Okay...Shanaynay for short."

Blossom shot him a look of fury, then sighed. She stood up from her seat and stalked into the kitchen to grab a snack. Buttercup was sitting at the table with her chin resting on her hands. She looked at Blossom and gave a sort of half-smile.

"This project is _too_ stressful for its own good. Weird how we all got paired with Ruffs, isn't it? Lucky Robin, she got Zach. Like, _my_ Zach. Stupid Robin..." Buttercup scowled at the table.

"What'd you and Boomer name your kid?" Blossom asked as Bubbles joined them, standing beside Blossom.

"I let him choose, so he named him Benjamin. Kinda sissy, but I mean, there is Ben Graham, and he was the captain in the Afl and NFL, so I mean..." She trailed off when she noticed that her sisters weren't following along. "So, What's your kid's name?" She asked Bubbles.

"He wanted to name her Katie, but I insisted on Amy and he was too...Butch to care." Bubbles shrugged. "Don't matter to me, so long as I get my way." Bubbles reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bag of chips. She grabbed a handful and set the bag on the table, knowing her sisters would help themselves as well.

"Anyway," said Blossom after finishing her third chip. "Don't you think it's weird? Our coincidental pairings I mean."

"I think it was just luck o' the draw." Bubbles shrugged.

"I think it's bullshit." Buttercup said around the chips that were jammed in her mouth.

"Language," demanded Blossom. The door slammed and Bubbles looked towards the living room.

"That must me Butch." She floated out of the kitchen to retrieve her baby. Blossom had still been cradling Shianne, and Buttercup had determined that Boomer was more motherly than she was, and that it was best to leave the dumb sack in his care if she wanted an A.

Blossom and Buttercup decided to rejoin the rest of the party in the living room, and upon their arrival, Brick looked to Blossom and said, "Done breastfeeding?"

Her face flushed deep red and she scowled to mask her embarrassment. "Shut up and do something productive for once," she snapped at him, shifting the weight of Shianne onto her other hip.

"Maybe I _could_ if you would let me hold the damn baby!" Brick complained.

"Butch, if you ever leave our baby alone ever again, I will personally rip your head off and feed it to a whale!" Bubbles' threat rang through the whole room, although no one seemed to care much except for Butch. The idea of having his head fed to a whale wasn't exactly appealing.

"Boomer, would you _please_ stop being such a girl towards the baby! He's a boy, he doesn't need his hair brushed every ten seconds!" Said Buttercup, for Boomer had been using a brush to groom the baby's "hair"

The heros and heroines continued their bickering as such, and when Professor came up from the lab, he was a bit confused. He decided it best that he just didn't comment, and took to the kitchen to grab a snack before making his way back to his lab.

When the boys finally left, Blossom had finally been swayed to allow Brick to take Shianne for the night. Bubbles had kept Amy, and Buttercup had insisted that Boomer keep Ben indefinitely, with few daytime visits.

"What? I really _hate_ this project," she had explained when Bubbles shot her a look of disdain.

As the three girls were preparing for bed, Blossom found herself wondering about the odd pairings. It was too..._expected_ for the Puffs to be paired with the Ruffs. It was almost as if Ms. Elam had planned it or something. Blossom shook the thought. Ms. Elam was a teacher, which meant you could always trust her to do what's right. Right?

Blossom was mere seconds away from falling asleep when she heard a strange voice in her head. Assuming it was just her dream, she shrugged it off and fell deeper into sleep.

"_Everything is going just as planned. Soon enough, their bickering will drive them insane, making them easy targets. It's just a matter of time..."_

*****Well, there you have it! Another exciting chapter of this 'chain story'. If you liked it, follow and favorite! Oh, and don't forget to leave a review! xoxo*****


	3. Chapter 3

"So, class, how are you enjoying the assignment so far?" Ms. Elam was standing at the front of the class, addressing each student with a wide smile. When no one answered, she decided to call out on someone. To Brick's dismay, she turned her colored-contact eyes to him.

"Brick, are you enjoying the project?"

Brick looked up and sighed deeply. He leaned back in his seat, put his arms behind his head and his feet up on the desk in front of him. "I'll be honest with ya, Ms. Elam, Big Red is driving me crazy. She's so _bossy_" Blossom's head snapped back towards him and she shot him a glare so deadly that if it weren't for his being a superhero, he may have passed out.

"Is that so," challenged Ms. Elam, obviously trying to get a little fight out of the two reds. She turned her petite body to Blossom. "Blossom, how are _you_ enjoying working with Brick?"

Blossom noted that the question had changed from enjoying the project to enjoying her partnership, but shrugged it off, knowing it was nothing to worry about. "Well, Brick is a rude, disgusting, mean, judgemental _idiot_, so naturally, I hate being his partner." Ms. Elam nodded in a sort of agreement and went to write on the board. When she was done she moved out of the way for the class to see what she had written.

_Teenage Parenthood_

"What about it, Ms. Elam?" asked Melissa Burkley, a small blonde that sat three seats to the left of Blossom. Ms. Elam allowed her gaze to settle upon Melissa, then she spoke to the entire class.

"Being a teenage parent is not an easy task, as Brick and Blossom helpfully displayed with their quarreling. This is a project to give all of you a taste of the real world. Since I'm not allowed to teach about safe sex, I'm compromising." The class made a noise of understanding, finally uncovering the meaning of their project. Blossom was not happy. This was supposed to be a replica of her future life, but when would she ever have a baby with Brick? It didn't make sense and she wasn't very pleased.

Blossom sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. Her only options were to stick with the project, or do as Buttercup and blow it off altogether, and she obviously wasn't going to choose the latter, so it was Brick, Brick, and more Brick for the next twelve days.

As soon as class was over, Blossom snatched Shianne and stalked out of the room, completely humiliated from Ms. Elam's discrimination against her and Brick. This project was awful enough having him constantly on her tail, but it was only made ten times worse with her singling them out.

"Hey, Pinky, wait up!"

Speak of the devil. Blossom ignored Brick's call and continued to weave through the students in the hallway on her way to her locker. He resolutely kept up with her, following her path until they were both standing at her locker, Blossom with a rather pained expression on her face.

"What do you want, Brick?" she asked through gritted teeth as she twisted in the combination to her locker.

He leaned up against the locker next to hers and grinned. "Alright, so I was thinking."

She raised her eyebrows and cut him off before he could finish. "Really? That's a first."

His red eyes glared at her and she pretended not to notice as she fished out a few books from her locker, trying at the same time to balance Shianne on her hip.

"I was _thinking,_" he continued, ignoring her comment, "That I should get to spend more time with our child. I mean, she needs love and affection, and obviously that's something _you_ can't exactly provide, Miss 'I-Have-A-Stick-Up-My-Ass.'"

Blossom gaped at him. She couldn't believe he'd just said that. She straightened up, forgetting all about her books and turning to face him, head-on. He didn't even flinch as she brought her face an inch away from his and squinted harshly at him. "I'll have you know that I'm providing _our child_" -she said the words with utter disgust- "with more love and affection than you've ever experienced in your life!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Seems like you really love her, considering you just left her on the floor..."

He was right. Blossom's face drained of all color and she rushed to pick the 'baby' up from the floor where she'd left her. She absolutely couldn't stand Brick. He was over here acting like he was such a great parent, like he was God, and Blossom was Medusa or something. He was despicable, and she wasn't sure how much more she could take of this.

"Would you just listen to yourself?" she snapped angrily. "You're acting like you're all high and mighty, like you've never done anything wrong in your life!"

He smirked. "Well, I wouldn't say—"

"Just shut up!" she hissed. "Shut up and be _normal_! Just... _try_ to help me out on this project, I cannot afford to get a low grade because of your immaturity!"

"Oh yeah, because an A minus would just crush your perfect record, wouldn't it?"

"I'll have you know that I obtain that 'perfect record' because I am a good student and I want to do something with my life, unlike _you_, who will most likely end up selling fast food in the slums somewhere!" She jabbed her index finger into his chest as she spoke, making sure to keep her other hand clutching Shianne tightly.

"Do you even know what kind of grades I get?" he asked her. "I may not be as perfect as you seem to think you are, but I'm not an idiot. You gotta give me some credit—"

"I don't have to give you _any _credit, Brick!" she screamed. "I don't trust you!"

At this point, the two were at each others' necks, and a small crowd of interested onlookers was forming around them. The pair were oblivious to their audience, but one of the teachers in a nearby classroom sure wasn't.

"Why shouldn't you trust me?!" Brick was shouting back at her.

Blossom scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you really just asked me that," she muttered. "You're a _RowdyRuff Boy_. Nobody in their right mind should trust you if they know what's good for them!"

Mr. Parsne had been correcting papers at his desk when he heard the commotion arouse just outside his classroom. He stood up from his desk and stalked ominously outside, heading towards the large group of students that was huddled around a pair of yelling redheads. He sighed. He didn't have time for this. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as he approached and put on his best threatening glare. The two teens immediately stopped arguing when they saw him. The girl's face drained of all colour and she gave him a look of utter fear. He smirked.

"Arguing..." he hissed, "In front of a child...detention. For both of you."

And with that as his final decree, he stalked away, leaving Blossom shocked into silence (for once) and Brick with his eyebrows raised in a bored expression.

Blossom slowly turned to face her counterpart again as the crowd dispersed and the school bell rang in her ears.

"I got..._detention_..." she whispered, still not believing the truth.

Brick sighed. "Way to go, Wonder Mom, you're setting a great example for little Shanaynay."

Blossom's glare could've burned down a building as she huffed away, detention-laden and late for class.

* * *

"_Detention_?" hissed the Professor with clear disappointment. He had been working on an important machine that had the potential to rid the world of weeds, making the lives of gardeners much easier, when he received a call from a more-than disgruntled Blossom.

"Professor, I'm so, _so_ sorry! I was arguing with Brick and my flour was with me, so Mr. Parsne gave us both detention for being bad parents." Blossom was trying frantically to keep her father figure calm, but it didn't seem to be working. Excuses meant nothing to him when it came to matters such as this. Detention is detention, no matter how you got it. Blossom learned that from Buttercup's many arguments with Professor in her high school days.

"Blossom Utonium..." he said with acid in his tone. "I will see you in an hour. When you get home, come to my lab." Professor slammed the phone on the receiver and stalked off to his lab, closing his door with so much force that the wall rattled as if an earthquake was passing through.

Bubbles and Buttercup had been listening, and they both shared looks of animation and astonishment.

"Blossom got _detention_?" Bubbles wondered aloud as they made their way back to the living room. Buttercup joined Butch on the couch and flipped on a soccer game.

"It's about time goody-goody did something bad," Butch said before turning his head to the TV and absorbing himself in the game.

Boomer looked to Bubbles, clearly uninterested in the sport that the greens were watching intently. "What did she do?" As he spoke, he rose and began to make his way to the kitchen table.

Bubbles followed suit, answering his question as they went. "I heard something about her arguing with Brick, and Mr. Parsne being his usual, intolerable self."

The blues sat across from each other, both cradling their babies as they spoke. "Wow, that sucks...but in lighter news, my little Benjamin did the most _adorable_ thing the other day. I was just sitting there, feeding him his bottle when I swear I heard him call me 'momma'!" Said Boomer excitedly.

Bubbles' face light up at the news, and she replied in a voice just as animated. "That's so _adorable_! Did I tell you what my little Amy did?" Boomer shook his head, looking down at Ben and smiling like a cat lady would smile at her new kitten. "Well, she was sitting across the room from me, and I looked away for half a second, and when I look back, I _swear_ she was _walking_! She must have gotten stage fright when I started looking again, but I think she's on a good path as of now!" While Bubbles and Boomer shared noises and gestures of excitement as they offered anecdotes about their baby's achievements, Buttercup and Butch were talking in the same manner as well.

"Did you _see_ that pass! It was absolutely perfect!" said Butch as he grabbed a handful of the popcorn Buttercup had made. Buttercup did the same.

"He's gonna score off of it! He's going...he's shooting...he..._misses_?! What the _fuck_? That was a _perfect pass_! It was right to the open space and the keeper was way out of position! What a git."

"Sometimes I swear, _I_ could do better than half of these so-called _professionals_." Butch determined. Buttercup nodded in agreement, and they went back to giving each other play-by-plays and complaining about the players' mess ups.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Bubbles and Boomer were having a laughing conversation about their flour-sack 'children', all prior tension (if any had existed) between the two dissipated in the somewhat parental atmosphere.

This scene continued for a few hours until all heads were drawn towards a loud SLAM as the front door shut violently. Blossom stood in the doorway for a split second, taking in the scene. But if she auburn-haired girl had been confused about the way her sisters were 'cozying up to' the Ruffs, she didn't show it. It was masked behind her obvious fury at being cooped up in detention for an hour and a half after school.

"Hey, Blossom!" Bubbles greeted her cheerfully from the kitchen.

Blossom ignored her. She said nothing to Buttercup or Butch as she stalked right past their line of vision to the television, making a beeline for the Professor's lab.

Bubbles stuck her head out of the kitchen and called after her, "Blossom?" but the only response she received was another loud SLAM as Blossom entered the lab.

"I don't see why she's so pissed," Buttercup muttered. "It's just detention."

Bubbles brought herself and her flour baby completely out of the kitchen and made to sit on the easy chair by the couch, Boomer following in line behind her. As she sat, he stood next to her chair, eventually leaning ever slightly on the arm, his own flour baby perched on his knee.

"Well, you know Blossom," Bubbles said with a sigh, "She's never had detention a day in her life."

Butch snorted, his eyes not leaving the television screen. "Please, I've gotten detention at least a trillion times. It's nothing to get so worked up about."

Buttercup simply nodded her agreement. She'd gotten detention far too many times to count, as well.

Boomer rolled his eyes at Butch's comment. "But you don't get straight A's."

"Hey," the emerald eyed boy said defensively, "all I need to pass high school is a straight C average."

"Not if you want to do something with your life," Boomer muttered.

Before his brother could offer a retort, Boomer's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, checked the caller ID, and answered in monotone. "Yeah?"

"_Hey, Boomer, you guys at the Puffs' house?_" Brick's voice asked in a slightly muffled voice on the other line.

"Yeah."

"_You think Pinky'll have a heart attack if I join you?_" he said slyly, the smirk obvious in his voice.

Boomer replied, "Probably. She seemed kinda mad when she got home."

"_Excellent_," came his brother's reply before he hung up the phone. Before Boomer had a chance to replace his own cell in his pocket, however, the front door to the Utonium house swung open again and Brick let himself in with a smirk on his face.

Boomer sighed and shifted his flour baby onto his other knee. Butch looked up from the television as Brick sauntered into the living room and plopped himself down on the couch in between Butch and Buttercup, who scowled profoundly.

Butch grinned. "You're an ass," he told Brick, who shrugged in response, the signature smirk not once leaving his face.

Bubbles' face snapped up from concentrating on her flour baby's face and she glared at him. "Would you quit swearing in front of the babies?!" she snapped. Boomer shot Butch a stern look, agreeing with Bubbles, and proceeded to pick a fuzz off of her baby's 'head'.

Butch ignored them both and turned his attention back to the game, where a particularly interesting play was in progress.

"Seriously?!" Buttercup exclaimed, tossing her handful of popcorn at the screen. "What the _fuck_, Landon?!"

Bubbles cleared her throat loudly. "Buttercup!"

Buttercup stuck her tongue out at her sister and reached into the bowl of popcorn that was still on Butch's lap, having thrown her previous handful at the screen. As she did so, Butch reached in at the same time, and their hands touched briefly. Buttercup immediately pulled her hand away and Butch smirked, shoving a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth. Buttercup forgot all about wanting more of the snack and fixed her gaze on the television again.

Another slam of a door and Blossom re-entered the room. The furious look was still obvious on her face, and when she spotted her 'guest' on the couch, her scowl deepened (if possible) and made to stalk away.

Before she got very far, however, Brick spoke up. "Where you goin, baby mama?" he asked, using her new annoying nickname.

She stopped and closed her eyes tightly, slowly turning to face him. "To get away from _you_," she hissed between her teeth.

"Now, now," _tsk_ed Brick. "Not in front of the baby," he said, eyeing the sack of flour that Blossom was cradling in one arm. "You wouldn't want to get _detention_, would you?"

Blossom scoffed, turned and stormed out of the room. Bubbles gave Brick a look of disapproval. "Brick, you could be a little nicer. She's really stressed over this detention thing."

"Why should I? She's being a bitch and-" Brick's sentence was cut short by Bubbles' death glare.

"Stop. Swearing. Around. The. Baby!" she demanded forcefully, causing Brick to close his mouth and widen his eyes.

"Whoa, Bubbles, calm down," Butch offered, hands raised in surrender. "Look, how about _I_ take the baby for a little. I'll...I'll get her ice cream, then you can stop stressing." Butch walked to Bubbles and held out his arms.

Bubbles looked at him reluctantly and, with a sigh, handed over Amy. "Just...don't drop her! Oh, and she can't have too much ice cream or she'll get a tummy ache and-"

"Bubbles! I got this, calm down." Butch turned and left the Utonium house with a smile unseen by Bubbles. He was more than happy to be out of that episode.

"Getting out sounds nice actually..." Boomer said after a couple moments. He stood up from his spot on the ground, cradling Ben in one arm and reaching for his jacket with the other. "I think I'm going to take Benjamin for a stroll in the park..." Boomer looked to Bubbles who, catching on to the invitation, grabbed her jacket as well. The two departed with nothing close to a goodbye, leaving Brick and Buttercup alone in the living room. Brick turned to her, about to speak when Buttercup cut him off.

"Don't even think about it. I wouldn't spend time with you alone if my life depended on it." Buttercup stood and made her way upstairs.

"And then there was one..." said Brick in monotone. Just as he was about to duck out, Professor came upstairs.

"Oh, well hello Brick...fancy seeing you here...alone," Professor said casually.

"Yeah, the other ones were here, but Blossom got mad, Butch took his sack of flour for ice cream, Boomer and Bubbles are on a walk and Buttercup...well."

"She's a feisty one, eh?" said Professor, understanding where Brick was going. The boy nodded his head.

Professor nodded absently, staring off at something Brick could not see and shoving his hands in his pockets. He crossed the room and sat down in the same easy chair Bubbles and Boomer had occupied only moments before. Just before the situation got awkward, Brick stood up and stretched.

"I, uh, better go..." he muttered, trying his best not to make the situation awkward. But it was too late.

"Actually, I'd like to have a chat with you, if you aren't in a rush," the Professor said casually. Brick gulped. This couldn't be good.

He wasn't afraid of his brothers. He laughed in the face of Mojo. Buttercup was a joke. He didn't even flinch when he saw Blossom. But there was something about Professor Utonium that sent shivers down his spine. He sat back down without being asked twice.

It was quite a few awkward minutes before Professor Utonium actually spoke. And when he did, his words confused Brick.

"Blossom might be a bit hard to deal with at times, but she's worth getting through to in the end," he said philosophically.

Brick blinked. "Er, yeah..." he replied, confused. Where was the Professor going with this?

As if the man had read his mind, he added, "You want to know the secret to getting along with Blossom?"

Brick thought about that for a minute. Did he want to know? He wasn't sure. He _was_ kind of having fun with the whole 'annoy the redhead' game, but he figured he'd have to agree with her sooner or later... didn't he?

Professor Utonium took his extended silence as a yes. He leaned forward in his chair and smiled an unreadable smile. "You have to let her be right."

"What?" Brick wasn't sure he'd caught that last part. Let Blossom be _what?_

"You have to give her the upper hand," the Professor explained. "Allow her to be right, even when she's not. She likes to be on top. If you handle her that way, she'll be like putty in your hands." he shrugged. "Just a tip."

Brick nodded at the man and made his hasty escape before his siblings returned. There was no way in hell he was letting Blossom be right! Especially if he knew he was! Shanaynay was a perfect nickname for their little fart of a 'child'. It was just an old sack of flour, anyways, he didn't see why Blossom was taking it so seriously. It wasn't like they were actually going to have children together. And thank god for that, or else Brick was sure he'd have grey hair before he was 20.

*****I'm so sorry this took so long to update! With Marisa and I both going back to school, updates may take longer than normal. Lot's of stuff and school, comes first blah blah blah. Anyway, we hope you like it! Next chapter up soon!*****


	4. Chapter 4

The breeze sent a chill down Boomer's spine as he fastened a jacket around Benjamin. He fitted a small hat on to the sack of flour before turning to Bubbles with a smile, which she returned warmly. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Bubbles nodded. She followed Boomer's lead as he stepped off the porch onto the lightly salted sidewalk. The salt crunched underneath each of their shoes as they walked down the side of the driveway and onto the sidewalk out front. Boomer was first to set foot on the crisp, clear, virginal blanket of snow that had fallen a mere hour or two before. His shoe sank into the thin layer, making a soft crunching sound as he walked. He grinned widely and looked back at Bubbles, who took a huge step onto the wide sheet of snow.

"I love this kind of weather," Bubbles admitted, admiring the endless path of sparkling white snow ahead of them as they walked.

Boomer nodded in response. "It's okay. I personally prefer the fall."

Bubbles raised a questioning eyebrow at her counterpart's sudden mature lango. "But winter's just so mystical, you know?" She sighed contentedly and skipped ahead of him, twirling around leaving a looping train of footprints behind her. She reached her arms out to either side and laughed, her light blue scarf trailing behind her in a spiraling curve.

Boomer watched her spin with a gentle half smile on his face. The way she carelessly twirled around with her arms spread wide like that made her look so pretty... He found himself blushing lightly as he thought that and he brought the heavy form of Benjamin in front of his nose to hide it.

This made Bubbles laugh more when she turned around to see Boomer's face completely hidden behind the sack of flour.

"I think Ben likes winter best, too," she giggled. Boomer realized that he loved when she addressed Benjamin by his nickname. It made him feel like Bubbles was a part of his life with Ben, and just the thought made him blush deeper.

Bubbles noticed the blush on his cheeks and walked forwards slowly, wordlessly taking Benjamin from in front of his face and cradling the flour baby in her arms. She looked down at the baby lovingly, as if there really was life in the inanimate object's eyes. Boomer half wanted to look down at his and Buttercup's 'child' too, but he couldn't bring his eyes to tear away from Bubbles' face. The cold painted her cheeks a rosy pink and her eyes sparkled with the reflection of the snow.

"Hey, Bubbles..." he said softly, not daring to move any closer than he was to her now. He couldn't chance it. Her gentle eyes met his curiously. "Wouldn't it have been awesome if um... You and I had been partners instead of..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but Bubbles registered where he was headed. She smiled wider, a light giggle escaping her lips. "Yeah, it's too bad... Butch always makes me do the work, and Buttercup isn't a very cheery person to be around..."

Boomer nodded in agreement with her. He now wished more than anything that he'd been paired with Bubbles instead of Buttercup. He didn't have anything against the green puff, except for... well... to put it quite simply, she scared him.

"Maybe we could trade," he suggested. "Ms. Elam would never have to know. We could pretend to be with our real partners in class, but take care of each others' flour while we were out..." The look on Bubbles' face told him it was a terrible idea. An embarrassed jolt shot through his spine and he blushed even deeper than before. "S-sorry, I just-"

"No, Boomer, I like that idea," she caught quickly, shaking her head. "The only problem is, I don't think our siblings will get along very well together, that's all..."

Dang, he hadn't thought about that. He dropped his head to look at his feet. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about them."

She sighed. "Yeah, but I guess this way is better anyways. We both know what we're doing and keep those two in line."

Boomer could have sworn he saw her wink at him. He grinned, turning his eyes towards his own flour child again. The permanently happy face on the sack of flour directly mirrored the giddy feeling he felt right now, here in the middle of the snow with Bubbles... He was so tempted to reach out and take her mittened hand, to just feel her warmth beside him.

Before he could do anything, though, Bubbles shot him another adorable smile and skipped ahead again, carefully this time, so she didn't drop Benjamin. He grinned wider and followed close behind, sticking his feet into the small prints her dainty feet made in the snow.

After a few blocks, she turned back around to face him again, a questioning look in her eyes. He raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but closed it again, shaking her head.

"What?" he inquired of her, not sure whether to be mildly curious or alarmed.

She continued to shake her head, turning away. "Nothing, never mind, it's nothing."

He reached out and took Ben from her arms, turning her figure around in the process. "Tell me."

Bubbles met his eyes hesitantly, then sighed. She couldn't say no to that face. "Well, okay, but you have to promise you won't laugh at me."

Boomer pretended to cross his heart and put his right hand in the air, his other arm holding tight to Benjamin. "You have my word."

She sighed shakily and shifted her weight onto her other foot. "Have you ever thought about what it'll really be like in the future? You know, like when we're actually having kids and stuff." She immediately blushed when she realized what she'd accidentally said. He half-smiled. "I mean, not _us _specifically having kids, you know, together, but just in general, what it's going to be like. Like, maybe I know my future husband. Maybe he's in one of my classes at school or something. Maybe I'm friends with him. He could be walking around somewhere closeby right now and I wouldn't even know it!"

Boomer thought it was cute, the way Bubbles was getting so worked up about this. He smiled and almost laughed, but then remembering his promise, concealed the chuckle into a nervous-sounding cough. He found it ironic how she was going on about her future husband, and here Boomer was thinking she was just the most adorable and innocent being on the face of the earth, and how hadn't he noticed how clear and crystal-like her eyes were before...?

"Don't give me that look, I know I'm weird," she scoffed, playfully slapping him on the arm. He pretended to be in pain from her not-so-hurtful blow and opened his mouth in a silent scream.

"Hey, no violence!" he protested. "You're setting a bad example for my kid!"

She giggled. "Sorry."

Before things got too silly, he turned the conversation back in its original direction. "I don't think that's weird, Bubbles," he admitted quietly, looking not at her but at the face of his flour child. "I think it's kinda cool to consider. There's actually an option or two in this world I know of that I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with."

Bubbles' face flushed and her eyes grew wide. She wanted to conceal her reaction behind her mittens, but it was too late. He'd already seen her face. Had she known who he had been referring to? Did she feel the same? Was this even appropriate for them to be discussing at such a young, fragile age?

Making an impromptu decision to change the topic before things got out of hand, Boomer took three steps forward towards a nearby tree with a low branch, and as he expected, Bubbles followed. He 'accidentally' nudged the branch, causing an enormous pile of snow to cascade down onto Bubbles' pretty blonde head.

She gasped at the sudden chill the snow sent down her back.

"Boomer!" she shrieked as he laughed at her expense.

"Bubbles!" he rebutted.

She scooped a handful of snow from the ground and hurled it at him. He turned away just in time so that the snow hit him harmlessly on the back of his coat.

"Hey, what'd I tell you about the violence?"

She just stuck her tongue out at him.

Buttercup sat in her green tinted room, bored out of her wits and considering caving and talking to Brick just to have _something_ to do when her phone beeped. She picked up the green-cased iPhone and saw that she had a text from...Butch? Buttercup read the message, and found it to be an invitation to the ice cream shoppe.

Buttercup was taken aback by the offer, but accepted it. _I'll be there in ten_, she replied before taking to her wardrobe. She didn't want to wear her current outfit, black sweats and a ripped green tank top, out. Instead, she went with a more form-fitting pair of leggings and a white camisole, worn under a baggy green cardigan. she brushed her short, raven locks, stopped for one final look in the mirror, then took off.

The ice cream shoppe was a store inside the mall with the absolute best cookie dough ice cream. The craving for such a treat was the excuse Buttercup had made for accepting the invitation. It was much better than thinking she accepted because the genuinely wanted to hang out with Butch. No, she just wanted the ice cream. That was it.

Upon her arrival, she immediately spotted Butch. He was hard to miss, carrying around an ugly sack of flour which caused many looks of amusement. Buttercup strode over to him casually.

"Before you think this is a form of 'being nice', you should know you were a last resort." Butch's reassurance lightened Buttercup's mood about the outing.

"Good," she smiled. "You aren't exactly a last resort, but only because I would pick you over Brick any day." Butch grinned back.

"Alright, well _I_ want ice cream, so I'll be right back." Buttercup walked off, and despite Butch's hatred- Okay, maybe not hatred. It was more of a passionate indifference- for Buttercup, he couldn't help but stare as her legs as she walked away. Her figure, even in the baggy top, was still curvy, fierce and, above all, sexy.

_Snap out of it Butch!_ Butch's inner, more practical self ordered. He was being weird. I mean, he invited Buttercup out to ice cream with him, for crying out loud! In what dimension would that be an acceptable gesture? It was majorly out of character for him. If anything, he should have ditched the sack of trouble and looked for some hot chick to cozy up to. He was at the mall after all, and a trip to Victoria's Secret would have done just sufficiently in his search. So why, above all other options, had he decided to invite _Buttercup Utonium_ out to ice cream?

He didn't have much more time to wonder about anything, because Buttercup was making her way back to his seat now, ice cream in hand. "They have the _best_ cookie dough ice cream here, you know? That's the main reason why I came out here. I could never pass up an opportunity to get a good scoop of this."

Butch nodded in agreement. He knew that the Ice Cream Shoppe's cookie dough ice cream was the bomb. Best in Townsville, that was for sure. But what he didn't know was exactly how tantalizing a person could be while eating said ice cream. His own cone in his hand was mint chocolate chip—his all time favourite, and it was almost gone now—but something about the way Buttercup was licking her scoop gave him a craving for cookie dough all of a sudden…

"The fuck are you staring at?"

Butch blinked. He didn't realize that he'd been watching Buttercup eat her ice cream with an intense look in his eyes. He didn't even realize that a drip from his own cone had splattered onto the table in front of him, making a semi-gigantic mess.

"Er, there's this really hot babe behind you," He quickly lied, taking a handful of napkins from the dispenser in the center of the table and tossing them down on the puddle of melted ice cream. He wrapped his uneaten cone in the rest of the napkins and threw it down on top of the pile.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. She bought it. He almost sighed in relief until something got in the way. The stupid flour child. That thing was annoying as fuck. He was so sick of carrying it around everywhere. Although, truthfully, it was Bubbles who did most of the carrying, but still. He hated the stupid thing. If only Bubbles had taken her own stupid kid out to get ice cream instead of him…

That was it! That was the reason he invited Buttercup for ice cream! She was a girl, so she knew what to do with those stupid things. He grinned widely.

"Hey, wanna do me a huge favour?" he asked her slyly, setting the heavy sack of flour down on the table.

Buttercup licked her ice cream and replied unblinkingly, "No."

"Awesome, here, take care of my flour thing so Bubbles doesn't murder me." He handed Amy across the table, setting her in front of Buttercup.

The raven-haired girl stared at him through narrowed eyelids for a second before pushing Amy to the side. There was a third chair at their table, which she tossed the flour down onto carelessly.

"You're actually afraid of her?" Buttercup inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Butch's face grew hot, angry with himself for revealing his secret fear of the blonde girl. "No way, I mean, I just don't want to deal with her fucking sonic scream shit if I accidentally kill it or something."

She didn't lower her eyebrows. "Right."

Butch opened his mouth to offer a rebuttal, but he stopped short when a speedy drip of Buttercup's ice cream traveled down her wrist.

"Shit." She snaked out her tongue and twisted her arm around to catch the straggler, trailing it all the way up her arm and back to her ice cream. She nipped her tongue back into her mouth, licking her pink lips in satisfaction.

He didn't know why, but he shivered. She must have noticed his jaw hanging six feet below on the ground, because she stopped mid-lick and met his eyes.

"Lemme guess," she said with another eye-roll, "Another hot babe?"

Butch only nodded. He couldn't find the words to respond verbally. He knew his eyes were wide and he knew his tongue was falling out of his mouth, but quite frankly, he didn't care.

"I'll save you the embarrassment of turning around," she said sarcastically. Again, he just nodded. She studied his expression with a curious look on her face and another lick of her ice cream. She rested her arm on the table, leaning forward slightly to give him a better view of the 'babe' behind her. A drop of her ice cream landed on her arm. She cursed again and lapped it up easily with a flick of the tongue.

Butch could not believe his eyes. She was working wonders with her tongue and she was only eating ice cream.

He'd never been so turned on in his life.

"What's she look like?" Buttercup inquired, still under the impression that Butch had spotted some sort of valley girl at the counter behind her.

He shook his head, unable to legibly answer that question. An inquiry burned at the back of his throat, but he ignored it. Scratch that. A _million_ inquiries burned there, and he _tried_ to ignore them all. But she was too much for him.

"Blonde?"

He shook his head. _What else can you do with that tongue, Buttercup?_ She closed her lips around a small lump of ice cream on her cone and sucked on it. This shouldn't be considered legal.

"Brunette?"

Another headshake. He was still staring at her lips. _Can you show me?_ The ice cream was nearly gone now. He thought his troubles were over. But he was wrong. _Terribly_ wrong.

"Redhead?"

Nope. She bit into the cone thoughtfully, pretending not to know the last and final common hair colour in the universe. Her teeth teased the sugary cone into breaking, pulling the cracked piece of cone into her mouth slowly. _Does your bite hurt?_

"Long, black hair?"

He didn't realize what he was saying. He shook his head yet again. "Short," came his response, tearing his eyes away from her mouth to her dangerously short-cropped black locks.

"What's so attractive about her, her double D's?" Buttercup asked now, still completely oblivious to his obvious discomforting trance.

He was going to have epilepsy from all the head shaking he was doing. But he couldn't speak again. She was placing the final point of her cone onto her tongue, chewing it softly, and licking her fingers, one by tantalizing one, sending another shiver down Butch's spine. He pointed to his mouth, trying to tell her, but at the same time, he didn't want her to know…

"Her mouth?" Buttercup drew. "What the fuck can be hot about a girl's mouth?"

He had no answer. _Again_. Okay, another lie. He did have an answer. He just didn't think she'd approve of it.

Butch Jojo, you'd better snap the fuck out of this stupidity before I beat you to a pulp.

Yeah, he was threatening himself, it's gone that far. He finally, finally gained the strength to tear his eyes away from Buttercup altogether, reaching for his stupid flour sack child.

Buttercup figured now was her chance to turn around and catch a look at this short-black-haired girl with the sexy mouth. But she saw no one upon craning her neck through the whole Shoppe.

"Did she leave?" she asked Butch, watching him fumble with the taped-on face of Amy.

"Who?"

"Your girlfriend. The sexy lipped girl."

He couldn't help it anymore. He flushed. "Oh, er, no…" His eyes subconsciously flickered to her mouth. She noticed.

Narrowing her eyelids, she stole one last glance over her shoulder before whirling back around to face him, her lime eyes piercing his emerald ones. She tried to pretend the blush on her cheeks was from anger, but it really wasn't at all.

"You dirty pervert," she growled at him.

He decided to play innocent. "What?"

"You invited me here just so you could watch me eat ice cream!"

That being the underlying truth behind the matter, he wasn't about to admit that to her. He scoffed as if he'd never heard a more ridiculous idea in his life. "Don't be so full of it, I did not."

Her face flushed redder. "Well if you enjoyed it so much, you should've taken a video because I'm never eating in front of you again, asshole."

She stood up from the table and stalked away, leaving Butch gazing after her in a trance, his eyes glued to her legs from the behind and he was back in square one: alone in the ice cream parlour with that stupid flour baby.

Blossom sighed, flipping the page in her algebra book and copying down her forty-fifth problem. She solved it as easily as she read it, and was on to the next one in a flash. She jotted down the numbers and letters, the intricate formulas, and the long answers. Math was always one of her best subjects, and she liked it the most because it was so challenging. Many would call her a nerd for it, but she would ignore their rude comments and focus on the bigger picture; one day she would be their boss.

When she finished the assignment, she grabbed her sack of flour and went back downstairs. She was more than relieved to find that the large party had dispersed, leaving the house silent and orderly. _As it should be_. Blossom nodded to herself.

**. .**

**. .**

**. .**

The class was composing a baby diary. It was the dumbest idea in ever. Robin was having fun with it-she and her partner, "Buttercup's" Zach had dressed their child in a little fluffy dress and a cutesy hat. Blossom glared at her enviously as her own partner waggled his eyebrows at a blonde girl across the room. Smacking him on the arm, she jabbed her pen towards the blank paper on the desk and cleared her throat. He turned reluctantly towards her.

"What?" he groaned, looking at her pen like it'd move itself across the page.

"We have to come up with _some_thing logical," she spoke back. "Unless you want to fail this part of the assignment, too."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that _your _careless parenting earned us a D- in that part for the first week." He rolled his eyes and she nearly growled at him.

"_My_ careless parenting?" she repeated in a shrill whisper. "What about _your_ lousy anger management skills? You can't go five minutes without cussing in front of the baby!"

"Damn right, I can't," he smart-mouthed, grinning when her face reddened. She was frozen for a split second, but she quickly composed herself and leaned across the desk, bringing her face a mere few inches away from his.

"I don't think you understand," she hissed between her teeth, "Exactly _how_ much I loathe you."

He didn't flinch or back up a centimeter. If anything, he moved closer. "Oh, i think I have a pretty accurate estimate."

She narrowed her eyelids. "Humour me."

For a few seconds longer, they glared at each other, testing each others' patience, before he half-smiled and nodded.

"Well, judging by the close proximity of our faces-which _you_ initiated, might I remind you-you're just begging to be closer to me" -her face flushed and her eyes widened- "but you're covering up your insane passionate lust for my sexy hot body by saying you hate me."

She was frozen again for a minute, her face growing redder than his cap, but she soon snapped her head down with a scoff, muttering, "Let's just get to work."

He gave her a sly eyebrow-waggle and leaned back in his seat. "You didn't deny it," he pointed out.

She was still blushing a deep crimson. "You're not even worth the denial," she responded through her teeth.

"So you agree?" he pressed.

"Never."

"Liar."

"I don't lie."

"Bull shit."

They glared at each other for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"I have to sharpen my pencil," Blossom said.

"You're using a pen."

"Not anymore."

She threw herself out of her chair and stalked off into the corner where the pencil sharpener hung on the wall. She took her sweet old time sharpening her pencil, too. While she was up, Brick sighed and dragged their paper towards him, reading what she'd written so far:

"_Friday, January 10th. Week 1._

_Shianne is getting along with her new parents just fine. Her mother and father don't get along with each other very well at all, but we are willing to put our differences behind us for her sake. I have taught her how to walk, and she is making great progress. Brick, the ever-enthused father, has supported Shianne (or "Shanaynay", as he likes to call her) in her speech and has led her to speak her first word: "Daddy". He may be hot-headed and full of it, but in my opinion, he just needs"_

-It ended there. Brick flipped the page over. No more writing on the back, either. This bothered Brick, but before he had much any time at all to look into it, Blossom was returning.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, snatching the paper from Brick's hands. "We may be partners, but you are _not_ copying my paper."

"I wasn't copying...I was comparing." Brick said, leaning back in his chair and nonchalantly kicking his feet up on the desk.

"Comparing to what?" Blossom tested, shoving his feet back down to the ground. "You haven't written anything."

"Maybe because I'm so lost in your eyes," Brick said with that signature smirk of his.

Blossom, never being one to use crude language, mustered up some courage. She covered Shianne's ears. "Get bent, tool."

"Whoa-ho-ho, lookie here, Blossom's getting a bit of an attitude."

"No, _Blossom_ is getting fed up with your bull-with your idiocy." Her courage to use foul words had dissipated almost as soon as it had come along.

"I'm not being an idiot. I just really love messing with you," Brick admitted. The rest of the class had quieted down by this time, tuning in on their conversation. Neither of the reds noticed.

"Yeah?" Blossom asked with a fake smile. "Well I really love _not talking to you,_" Blossom hissed back.

"Then why are we talking?" he pressed. A smug look crossed his face when Blossom scoffed and directed her attention back to her paper. Brick did the same, and slowly the class followed along.

The calm continued until Brick pulled out a piece of gum. He began smacking on it immediately, which drove Blossom crazy. She tried to ignore it, but after so long, her grip grew so tight on her pencil that it snapped.

In her sudden fit of rage, she shouted out. "Shit!" After the word escaped her lips, she covered her mouth as her eyes widened.

"Blossom Utonium!" said Ms. Elam in disappointment. Blossom looked at her with fear.

"Y-yes?"

"Principals office..._now._"

*****Okay, there is is! I really hope you enjoyed it, and I have to give most credit to Marisa Lee for writing the majority of this chapter! I know, I'm horrible, but I'll get back on my game once I'm settled in school, so no need to fret! Anyway, favorite and review!*****


	5. Chapter 5

"I am going to _kill_ him!" Blossom screeched as she threw her bag on Robin's bedroom floor. She practically fell on Robin's bed and buried her face in the plush, orange pillow. Blossom was choking back sobs as Robin patted her back comfortingly.

"Bloss, it's really not _that_ big of a deal," Buttercup mumbled from the other side of the room, where she was perched on Robin's desk, deciding the desktop was much more comfortable than the chair.

Bubbles added, in an equally indifferent voice, "So you swore and got caught. You can hardly blame your temperament issues on Brick."

"Blossom, I think they're right. I mean, you're driving yourself crazy with this project, and it's really unhealthy for you!" Robin's voice grew more concerned for her auburn-haired friend.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," the redhead groaned into Robin's pillow. She twisted her neck to the side and continued, "And Ms. Elam said that just for that incident, I have to let Brick have Shianne for a whole _day_."

None of the other girls really knew what to say, except Bubbles, who offered feebly, "I'm sure he won't cause _too_ much trouble..."

Blossom lifted her face to shoot her blonde sister a disbelieving look_, _then she dropped back down.

Buttercup looked at Bubbles and rolled her eyes. Robin sighed and pulled out a math book. "Blossom, I know what will cheer you up! I need help with Algebra. I really need to learn how to do this function stuff or I'm gonna fail Mr. Gilman's test!"

Blossom lifted her head again to glance at the book. The offer was tempting. Finally, Blossom gave in to her instincts and rose from the bed to help Robin. The three girls smiled at Blossom, happy to get a normal response out of her.

* * *

"Dude, you're a dick!" said Butch, looking at his brother with a huge grin. "How d'ya manage to land her in detention again?" Butch was tossing his sack of flour in the air and catching it, and Boomer was looking at it with fear. He pulled out his phone and texted Bubbles about it.

"Well, she was mad at me and snapped a pencil. Then, she yelled out 'shit' and Ms. Elam sent her to the office. It was all really stupid, but also her fault. I mean, if she wasn't such a dumb bitch-" Brick's complaint was cut short by Butch's phone and its obnoxious ringing. Boomer left the room then, silently and unnoticed.

"Fuck, it's Bubbles!" Butch caught the baby and held it, then answered the call."Hello?" Suddenly, he was holding the phone an arm's length from his face, cringing at the loud noise coming from the speaker. It was obviously Bubbles' voice, and it was also obvious that she was furious.

"No...B-Bubbles! I swear I wasn't! The baby is fine! N-no!" Butch said incredulously. There was more screaming, and it was clearly going to go on for a while. Butch sat patiently, but still fearfully, waiting for the storm to die out. When it finally did, Butch sighed in relief. "Yes, she's fine, I promise. Yes...yes...okay, bye."

Butch tossed the phone to the other side of the room. "Where is he? Where the _fuck_ is Boomer?!"

"What'd he do?" Brick asked.

"That motherfucker told Bubbles I was tossing the baby in the air and trying to kill it. He just got me in so much trouble! Have you seen Bubbles when she's mad?"

"No, but I heard her," Brick said, getting up to go to the kitchen. From the fridge, he grabbed out a cold KFC chicken leg and began eating it as if he hadn't eaten in ages.

"Well, I have to go bring this piece of shit to Bubbles...save me some of that!" Butch ordered as he flew out of the house.

* * *

There was a loud knock on Robin's bedroom door, and Bubbles stood. "That must be Butch."

She made to let him in but Buttercup leapt out in front of her, blocking her sister's path to the door.

"Don't let him in!" the raven-hair hissed under her breath. Bubbles shot her a confused look. "I told him I was at home doing chores for the Professor so I couldn't hang out with him."

"He asked you to hang out with him?" Robin asked excitedly.

Blossom shot concerned look at Buttercup. "Why would you lie to him? That's not very nice."

Buttercup silently pleaded with her sisters and Robin to keep her presence a secret as she ducked into Robin's closet to hide, allowing Bubbles to open the door.

"Took you damn long enough to open the door," Butch scoffed upon entering the room. "Here's your stupid thing or whatever." He handed Bubbles the flour baby, and she took it gingerly into her arms with a disconcerted look towards Butch.

The green Ruff looked around the room. "Butters here?" he asked.

Blossom and Robin exchanged a glance before shaking their heads simultaneously.

Butch wasn't sure whether to believe the girls or not, but he definitely didn't want to remain in Robin's extravagantly girly room for a second longer than necessary. So he rolled his eyes in annoyance, saying, "Right well, tell her I'm lookin' for her," and zipped out of the room before they could respond.

A moment of silence followed before Buttercup stuck her head out of the closet. "Is it safe to come out?" she whispered, a sweater sleeve resting on the top of her head.

"You're good," Robin responded, crossing her legs into a butterfly position in her desk chair.

Buttercup scrambled up from the closet floor and stretched her back, the loud crack causing Blossom to flinch.

"Oh, Buttercup, your hair—" Bubbles sighed hopelessly at the sight of her sister's ebony locks, which were tousled in every which way on her head.

Buttercup shot Bubbles a look that said, "You think I care?" She ran her hand through her hair, only messing it up further.

"You forgot the radical here," Blossom muttered, pointing to a problem in Robin's algebra notebook.

"Why are you avoiding Butch?" Robin asked, erasing the answer and writing it over again, this time correctly, as Blossom looked on assuredly.

Buttercup sighed, flopping down on Robin's bed next to Bubbles. "Ever since the other day at the Ice Cream Shoppe, he's been—"

"You saw him at the Ice Cream Shoppe?" Bubbles piped, her eyes growing wide. Robin snapped her head up from the Algebra book to give Buttercup a similar look, and Blossom frowned.

Buttercup's face flushed as she realized she hadn't told them this story. "Well... Yeah... He was babysitting your kid or whatever, and he didn't want to be at the Shoppe by himself, so he asked me if I wanted to join..."

Robin squealed and turned to Bubbles. "Do you think he likes her?!" she asked the blonde girl excitedly.

Bubbles responded with an equally shrill squeal. "Oh my gosh, I don't know, I should ask him!"

If Buttercup's face had been red before, that was nothing compared to how it was now. "You guys, I'm right here, you know," she hissed through gritted teeth.

Robin giggled. "Buttercup, come on, he asked you on a _date_!"

"No he didn't! He just wanted me to watch his kid while he ate ice cream."

Bubbles' and Robin's eyebrows raised significantly. "Is that so?" Bubbles teased. "Are you sure he didn't want to watch _you_ eat ice cream?"

Shit. How had she guessed that? Buttercup growled. "Seriously, guys, that's so not funny."

"Do you like him?" Robin asked eagerly.

"Fuck no!" Buttercup snapped.

"Buttercup, language!" Blossom scolded. "And Robin, finish your homework."

"Thanks, mom," Buttercup said sarcastically. "But I think I'm leaving now that the coast is clear." She picked up her backpack from the floor and slung it over her shoulder.

"Don't forget to take out the trash when you get home," Blossom reminded the green puff as she left.

"Yes, mother," Buttercup deadpanned, shutting Robin's door behind her.

Blossom let out a sigh and turned back to Robin's Algebra book. "Okay, so since the coefficient is five, you have to take out the five and divide by—"

"Blossom, you're not gonna like this," Bubbles murmured, cutting her sister off. She sat on the bed, Robin's laptop resting on her knees and her face twisted into an unreadable expression.

"Bubs, can it wait? We're busy." Blossom tapped the pencil on the desk impatiently. But Robin was intrigued.

"What is it?" the brunette girl asked, standing up from the desk and walking over to Bubbles, peering over her shoulder at the laptop screen.

Blossom gave it a minute before sighing and deciding to give in and make her way over to see what the fuss was about.

Bubbles' Facebook page was open, and right in the center of the screen, a post stared back at her. In the post was a picture of Brick flying high above Townsville, dangling Shianne from a long, handcrafted noose. Blossom let out an exasperated sort of screech, and was out of Robin's room before Bubbles had a chance to calm her down.

Blossom zipped out of the small, brown house and sped quickly towards the tall building she had seen in the picture. Sure enough, there was Brick, sitting on top of an apartment building with Butch, who was holding a camera. The two of them were dangling Shianne over the edge and laughing hysterically.

Blossom landed behind them and cleared her throat. Brick jumped and Butch screamed. Blossom had to fight back a smile at the girly noise that escaped his lips, but seeing Shianne on the rope mad_e _the humor die out fast. Brick gulped and pulled Shianne up and placed her gently on his lap.

"Oh, hi Bloss...I was just, you know, teaching Shianne how to fly." He said, a little nervous.

"Yeah, because that's such a bright idea."

"Well, I mean, it's _our_ kid. We can both fly, so obviously she can too." Brick's desperate attempts to right the situation were feeble and pathetic. Blossom sighed, then walked closer to Brick. She held out her hands.

"Give her to me," Blossom demanded, trying to stay calm.

"No."

"No?" Blossom was taken aback. Did he just tell her _no_? That hardly seemed logical, so she tried again. "Give her to me."

"Blossom, no." Brick stood then.

Blossom gasped, eyes widened. "Excuse me? What right have you to tell me _no_?"

Brick's temper got the best of him after that statement. "Blossom, you're _not_ a queen. You have no right to treat me like shit just because _you don't like me_. This project thing is just as much for me as it is for you."

"Well, at least _I'm_ not so incompetent as to be incapable of going a single day without messing something up."

"Oh, because you're _so_ perfect!" Brick was shouting now, and close in Blossom's face. "That explains why you have so many friends, right? And why you have billions of boys _begging_ to be with you? Because you _never_ mess _anything_ up! You're just _too_ fucking _perfect_!"

"Give me the baby!" Blossom shouted, infuriated that Brick had the nerve to speak to her like that. She reached out for Shianne again, and Brick snapped back. Blossom continued to reach, and Brick leaned so far back that he soon lost his balance.

He began to fall backwards, and in order to regain his balance, he ended up tossing Shianne over the edge of the building. The three heroes were in too much shock to do anything, so they watched as the sack of flour plummeted to the hard asphalt street below.

Butch, who had been watching the exchange silently, looked to the reds, and cracked a sort-of smile. "Hey, now you guys can't argue over custody."

That snapped them out of their stupor and they both shot towards the ground. When they landed, they found themselves standing in a pile of flour. The sack was torn and laying about five feet left of the impact area. Blossom made her way to it frantically, and when she lifted the "dead" baby, she began to cry. Her hysterics were unexpected and uncontrolled. Brick walk over to her, planning on comforting her.

Blossom turned to him upon his arrival and her face was twisted with anger. "Now I'm going to _fail_ and _it's all your fault_!" She screamed at him. She threw a punch right at his face, but he was quick to respond. They had done this dance before, and he knew just how she fought. She had the same knowledge of his tactics, so when he would swing left, she knew that meant block then quickly duck right. When she aimed low he knew that meant another fist was zooming towards his face at the same knew all of their counterpart's moves, so the fight was nothing but tiring. Neither got any good hits, so after ten minutes, they died down.

"I never want to see you again."

"You'll see me tomorrow in detention. Remember, we get detention for killing the baby," Brick reminded her of a rule Blossom had disregarded at the beginning of the project, under the impression that she would never face that issue. Clearly, she was way off on her predictions, because now, not only was she going to get _another_ detention, but she was also about to get her first failed grade ever.

It was all too much for the red. She was so furious and hysterical that she couldn't focus. She took of to her home, crying and cursing. When she finally arrived, she stormed straight to her room and crawled in bed. She wanted nothing more than to sleep and not wake up the next morning. Even _death_ was more desirable than what awaited her at school tomorrow.

* * *

"Dude...what the _fuck_?" Butch floated down towards his red haired brother, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall.

"What?"

"Uhm, you just _killed your baby_!" he exclaimed. He pointed to the flour that was spread out down the street.

"Oh, yeah, that..." Brick sighed.

"What are you doing to do?" Butch asked with a look of concern fixed on his face. His eyes were shifting from the bored expression in Brick's eyes to the torn sack of flour that Blossom had left before she departed.

"I think I'm gonna order a pizza." Brick looked at Butch with a questioning look. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Brick, _you killed your baby_."

Brick rolled his eyes and sighed. He pushed himself off the wall and began to walk towards his home. "It's really not _that_ big of a deal. So we get detention and fail the project. That's hardly something to cry over."

"Brick, you don't have to be such a dick about it. Seriously, we're talking about _Blossom Utonium_. She's never gotten a bad grade in her life before, and until she was partnered with _you_ she had never even had a detention. You really fucked her life up this past week, and now you need to fix it."

"And who the fuck are you, Jesus?" Brick asked sarcastically, but something deep in him was stirring. An emotion of some sort, maybe sadness? Regret? "How do you know about Blossom's grades?" Even though it was obvious she had never failed anything ever, Brick still had to ask.

"Well, Bubbles and I hang out once and awhile with the the baby, and she talks about you two a lot. That and Boomer...it's weird, but that's not my point. My point is, until you came along, Blossom had a more than perfect record. You fucked all of that up. Her grades and behavior are all she has going for her, and now she has nothing."

Brick looked at Butch and saw he was being one-hundred percent real with him. So, if Butch wasn't just fucking with him...then...

"I have to go." Suddenly, Brick was _not_ in the mood to see or talk to anyone. Instead of going home, he went to a spot in the woods. It was a familiar place, one he'd gone to a couple times before. One with tall trees, a large rock that was curved so much it could almost be considered a cave, and yards of wildflowers surrounding the area. It was a beautiful place, which was why Butch and Boomer had never found out about it. Brick knew that if he showed his brothers his secret hiding spot they would do something to make it less...safe to him. He kept the place to himself, and no one knew where it was but him.

He sat there for the remainder of the day. He had expected to be full of thoughts about Blossom and how much of a dick he had been, but instead he had a generally clear mind. He watched the birds, the clouds, the swaying of the treetops in the breeze. The only time he thought about Blossom was just before he left, when the sun set turned the sky a striking pink.

He felt bad for what he'd done, deep down, he knew. But he shouldn't. He didn't care. It was Blossom, and he practically lived to annoy her. To piss her off. But for some reason this time the familiar swelling feeling from his actions didn't fill his chest. Her reaction was so different now, this time. This time, she didn't yell or roll her eyes or call him stupid. This time she cried. He'd really messed up this time. This time he didn't get the same satisfaction from teasing Blossom as he normally did. The feeling made him sick to his stomach. And he didn't like it.

*****Again, I'm so sorry about how long it's taking me to update recently. Life has been hectic with all of my classes and stuff. I really **_**don't**_ **get chemistry. Anyway, so I really hope you like this chapter! Credit to Marisa Lee as well (: *****


	6. Chapter 6

*****Sorry it took so long to update! Marisa Lee and I haven't been able to collaborate for quite some time, but we finally pulled it together and here it is!*****

Blossom was going insane. After news of her failed project and detentions got back to Mrs. Trickey, she was kicked off of the debate team as well as the mathletes and even the book club. They didn't want her "bad streak" tainting them. She had nothing to do anymore, so she stayed in her room. She spent her days staring at the walls, and her nights in the fetal position, curled under her cover and crying. She barely ate, save for the meals Professor would practically force feed her.

Buttercup, Bubbles, and Robin tried to shake her from the depression she had fallen into, all to no avail. They offered to take her to book conventions, nature walks, debates, and even chess tournaments and she refused each time, claiming the events were "pointless". She wasn't herself anymore and _everyone_noticed. Teachers began assigning extra homework in hopes that it would cheer her up, but it didn't phase her. People around town would ask her to help with simple things like cleaning, but she did it with no feeling. It was almost as if she wasn't in her body anymore.

"Blossom, come down here!" called the Professor one late Saturday night. Blossom stood from her bed and walked stiffly down the stairs and to her father.

"We need to talk..." the Professor began. He paused, not knowing what to say at all. How exactly did he help her with this? He never did take the time to read that "How to Console Your Depressed Teenaged Daughter" book. All he knew was that there was a problem, and it _needed _to be solved.

"What about?" Blossom's voice was nothing but a morbid sigh. Her shoulders were hunched over and her eyes looked worn and exhausted even though she had been either sleeping or doing nothing for the past week.

"Well, I, along with many others have noticed a...change in your behavior. You haven't been...normal." Professor coughed uncomfortably and shifted on the couch.

"So, because I'm not into that whole _school_thing I'm not normal?" Blossom asked, slightly hurt. How could her own father refer to her as abnormal?

"Blossom, sweetheart, that's not what I meant. I mean-"

"That's what you said. Okay, so I'm not enthused about school and extra-curriculars anymore. Why does it matter? I'm just fine." Blossom insisted.

"No, you're not 'just fine' Bloss," said Buttercup, who had been tuned in to the conversation from the kitchen. "Everyone has noticed..."

"Oh, so now everyone is talking about me?" accused Blossom.

"No, no not at all, it's just-"

Blossom cut the Professor off again. "Why don't people talk _to_me anymore? It's always behind my back now, ever since I was kicked off of my teams! What's the big deal if I'm not doing debates or solving quadratic functions for fun anymore?"

"No one said it was a big deal, Blossom."

"Really, Professor? They why are you all so concerned? NO ONE UNDERSTANDS!" Blossom's sudden outburst caused the Professor to jump. Buttercup sighed.

"Blossom, you're blowing this way out of proportion," Bubbles chimed from the hallway. She made her way into the room and stood by Buttercup.

"Oh, good. Now the whole family Is here to ridicule me. Should I alert the media?"

"Your attitude is very uncalled for, young lady. If you keep this up, you're grounded."

Blossom sighed and waved the threat away. "There wouldn't be a difference even if I was grounded," she said. And even though it hurt to admit, the other members of her family had to agree.

The Professor was one more outburst away from tearing his own hair out. He rubbed his tired eyes and moaned into his palms defeatedly. "Blossom, honey, just please tell me what's wrong. Your sisters and I are worried about you. We miss the fearless leader everyone knows and loves. I don't care if you don't want to do those things anymore, but I do care that all you do nowadays is sit at home and sulk."

Bubbles and Buttercup nodded in agreement but said nothing.

Blossom mimicked the Professor's actions by rubbing her eyes. She wished she could accurately answer the question. But she couldn't. She didn't know why one small failing grade and a few detentions caused her to be thrown over the edge.

Wait.

Yes she did. All of her problems began with one thing. One source. One name. And that name was Brick Jojo.

nearly every negative thing that had happened in the past month was the fault of her RowdyRuff counterpart. Scratch that. _Every single _negative thing that had happened was Brick's fault. If it weren't for him, she would still be the A-student, the class nerd, the know-it-all. She would never have failed that project, if she would have gotten someone decent as her partner. 'Reigning Academic Champion' would still be written on her report card each semester, and even Brick would still have his popular asshole reputation. It was all his fault.

Blossom opened her eyes and shifted her gaze to her sisters beside her, who were watching her face with worried curiosity. She scowled at the thought of what she was about to say to them.

"It's all Brick's fault," she said plainly. "Nothing was going wrong until I was paired up with _him _for Ms. Elam's stupid parenting project!"

"Blossom, you can't just blame your problems on someone else." The Professor, who didn't know nearly as much as the heroines did, was growing more irate with each passing second.

"Look, Bloss, me and Bubbles will go talk to him for ya." Buttercup purposefully said "Me and Bubbles" rather than "Bubbles and I" in hopes of Blossom being herself for one second to correct her. She didn't. Instead, she shrugged.

"Do what you have to, I'm going to bed," Blossom said.

"Are we really going to the Ruff's house?" she asked, slightly giddy about the possibility of seeing Boomer.

"Yeah, come on, let's go." Buttercup turned and began to walk to the door. From behind her, she heard the sound of Bubbles racing upstairs.

"I'll be just a minute!" Bubbles called from the bathroom. She didn't want to make an appearance without looking her absolute best.

Buttercup sighed. "This could take a while."

There was a loud and demanding knock at the door to the RowdyRuff house, and all three boys stared each other down, silently arguing about who would answer it. Boomer lost the stare down, and as the blonde boy got up to answer the door, Butch and Brick deliberated over who it could be.

"Five bucks says it's Blossom," Butch said to Brick, pointing at his brother in a significant way.

Brick leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "Doubt it."

Boomer swung open the door and his heart melted at the sight of Bubbles, standing in the doorway looking cute as a button in the same winter outfit she had worn that day on their walk, minus the scarf and mittens, for the weather had become significantly warmer over the past few weeks. Oh, and Buttercup was there, too, crossing her arms with a scowl on her face.

"Uh, hi, guys," Boomer said awkwardly, shifting his weight from his right foot to his left.

Bubbles smiled widely. "Hello, Boomer," she said sweetly. "We're here to speak to your brother."

Well, Butch and Brick sure heard that. They both looked at each other curiously, Butch's eyes wide with fear of the little demon blonde girl.

"Shit, dude," Butch whispered, "I don't know what I did, but she's gonna murder me, hide me!" The green Ruff dove beneath the couch and covered himself with a blanket. Brick just rolled his crimson eyes in time with Buttercup, who had hear the whole thing via super hearing.

"Chill out, you stupid baby," Butch's counterpart called out to him. "We don't wanna talk to you, we're here for Brick."

She shoved past Boomer at the door, dragging her sister behind. Bubbles made eye contact with Boomer, and they shared a desperate look behind Buttercup's back before she dragged the blonde girl into the living room.

Buttercup stood with her feet apart and her arms crossed in front of Brick, who sat on the couch. Bubbles stood slightly behind her, peeking out from around her shoulder.

"And what can I do for you two lovely ladies?" Brick asked cockily, winking at Buttercup. Boomer's nostrils flared at Brick, and Butch stared fearfully at Bubbles with wide, unblinking eyes.

"We don't want anything from you, sicko," Buttercup said flatly. "It's Blossom who needs the help."

Brick snorted. "What could she possibly need my help with?" he asked. "She just wants an excuse to boss me around and tell me I'm doing everything wrong."

Buttercup rolled her eyes and Bubbles stepped out from behind her. "Actually," said the blonde indignantly, "Blossom is depressed. And she says it's entirely your fault."

"_My _fault?" Brick repeated. "How is it my fault that she's depressed?! I haven't talked to her or even _seen_her since we did that stupid project!"

"Since you failed that project, you mean," Butch chimed in. Buttercup and Bubbles shot him a look, and he zipped his lips.

"Oh, so since she fucked one grade up, it's my fault for the rest of her life?"

"She didn't fuck it up, retard!" Buttercup exclaimed. "That was all you!"

"How was it me?" he said defensively. "If she hasn't been so nagging and bitchy all the time, maybe we could have actually done a good job on it! But no, she can't go two seconds without telling me I'm doing something wrong. If I don't do it her way, I shouldn't be doing it at all."

Buttercup pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily, cutting him off. "Look, obviously you two have some issues you need to work out, so why don't you just go up and talk to her?"

"_Talk_to that psycho bitch? No fucking way." Brick coughed into his elbow and adjusted his cap on his head.

Bubbles planted her hands firmly on her hips, taking a familiar Blossom-stance, and confronted him. "Don't call my sister names, Brick," she said firmly. "Just because you're insecure about your own sanity doesn't mean you should accuse others of being insane."

Her comment left Brick speechless. Butch wasn't sure whether to laugh out loud or tell his brother to run for his life. A shudder rippled through the green Ruff's back as he slowly got up and tiptoed away.

"Not so fast, Butchie-boy," Buttercup said without removing her gaze from the red headed brother. "Don't think you're off the hook so easily. You're coming with us. I think you've got some apologizing to do, too."

Butch's eyes went wide again and his hands flew in front of his face pleadingly. "What? Apologizing to who? I haven't done anything wrong in at least a day!"

Bubbles raised an eyebrow at him. "You're a lazy, sloppy nuisance, and I think both Blossom and the Professor deserve to hear an apology from you."

Butch gulped at the frightening look Bubbles shot him and nodded, hanging his head. "Yeah, alright whatever."

Brick smirked. "I can't believe you let these stupid girls tell you what you can and can't do," he said to his brother. "There ain't no way I'm going with you, and you can't make me if you tried."

Buttercup and Bubbles raised their eyebrows, glancing at each other. "Oh, really?" Buttercup said.

Five minutes later, the five of them were on their way to the Utonium household, Buttercup and Bubbles leading the way with Boomer and Butch trailing behind. All four of them were dragging Brick by a limb. He had stopped struggling by then and now had a grouchy look on his face. He'd have folded his arms, but Buttercup and Bubbles had iron grips.

"I can't believe they got you two in on this," the red Ruff said to his brothers. "I thought we were supposed to be brothers! Traitors!"

He attempted to spit in Butch's direction, but ended up making a mess on his own shirt. Butch laughed.

"You're acting like a five year old," Bubbles said sternly to Brick. "If you would have just sucked it up and agreed to come with us, we wouldn't have had to drag you."

Brick just shrugged and said nothing. His brothers both laughed again, messing with his feet.

"If you guys don't stop, I'll—"

"We're here, jeez, put him down already." Buttercup groaned, letting go of their 'prisoner''s hand. The two RowdyRuffs dropped their brother onto the ground, where he hit with a loud _thud_. The two laughed. Brick glared at Bubbles, who sheepishly let go of his hand with a smile.

"Alright, now I'm gonna go upstairs and get Blossom, you four wait down here. when she comes downstairs, you apologize, she's happy, we're done, you go home and you lot never talk to us again. Deal?"

"Deal," Brick said immediately, pulling himself to his feet and brushing himself off.

Buttercup waited for a response from the other two Ruffs.

"Uhh... wait, never as in never?" Butch inquired, his eyes flickering from Brick to Buttercup.

Boomer and Bubbles held each others' gaze for a long moment before Buttercup sighed.

"Fine, close enough." She started up the stairs. "Just don't let Bubbles kill you while I'm gone, okay, Butch?"

Butch made a fake salute and moved to stand beside Brick, trying his best to ignore Bubbles' angry look.

When Blossom came downstairs, Brick had to do a double take before realizing exactly _who_ it was that was glaring at him evilly. He knew Blossom to be a pretty, pink eyed, happy person. But this...this was an angry, depressed creature with bags under its eyes and hair strewn out over its canvas of a head. He didn't even want to _think_about the odor, although it was difficult to ignore. It smelled like death and feet.

"Blossom, the boys have something they wanna tell you."

Buttercup pointed rather rudely in Brick's direction with her thumb. Her red headed sister scowled even deeper and met Brick's eyes.

"Well they better make it quick," she snapped. "I'm busy."

Brick would have winced had he been the type to become easily offended. Of course, he wasn't, so he didn't. But he would have.

Buttercup raised an eyebrow at Brick, who tried his best not to roll his eyes.

"Um, yeah, well, Butch and I are here to say sorry for being idiots, I guess. Well, Butch was an idiot. I don't really know why _I'm _here..."

Buttercup punched him on the arm, and though he didn't even flinch, he groaned and turned fully to blossom, meeting her eyes.

"Alright, fine," he whined. "Blossom, I'm sorry for making you fail that one project like ten years ago. I'm sorry for making you depressed, even though I don't see how it's my fault, exactly."

With his super hearing, he caught the sound of Butch whispering to Boomer, "I'd be depressed too, if I had those sisters."

Boomer, thankfully, didn't laugh, because Brick could tell that Blossom heard it, too. So did her sisters, though Bubbles ignored the comment and Buttercup was too busy glaring at Brick to bother with the green 'Ruff.

After a pregnant pause with all eyes on Blossom, the red headed girl finally raised an eyebrow, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Is that it?" she asked.

Her counterpart looked around for a moment, thinking, then nodded with a shrug.

Blossom sighed. "Great. I'm so glad Buttercup and Bubbles had to force you into that. Maybe next time they can force you to actually do it properly."

And with that, Blossom turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, leaving the other five teens speechless, confused, and cross.

*****I hope you liked this addition of Devilish Games! The next chapter will be intense, and Marisa Lee and I are going to try to update ASAP. Okay, please review! Love always, Kelsi Lynne*****


End file.
